Written around 1900
and not performed publicly until 1920, Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde
(or Der Reigen in the original
German) is based around a simple theatrical conceit, whereby ten characters
(five men, five women) come together in a series of sexually-charged scenes,
with one person leaving the scene at the end and replaced by the next
character, in the pattern AB, BC, CD… JA. Its title, literally translating to
‘the round’ recalls the musical pattern of a round where interlocking melodies
are staggered over the top of each other at intervals. Presented here by
independent company Enigma, La Ronde
is a seductive and beguiling play which, under Steven Hopley’s direction,
shines and crackles with a very real sexual frisson.
Hopley’s staging
here amplifies Schnitzler’s structural conceit; by staging La Ronde ‘in the round’ on a raised circular dias (designed by
Rachel Scane), Hopley creates an intimacy which could easily have been lost in
a larger, more conventional theatre space. Sparsely furnished, Hopley’s cast
furnish their scenes with a vitality and a believability which is perfectly
suited to Schnitzler’s timeless text. Some references have been understandably
updated, but the play remains largely intact and (surprisingly) relevant and
applicable to a twenty-first century audience.
